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Melissa's Journal Entry March 17 |
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 Welcome
to my St. Paddy's day Journal Entry. On the right you can
see an image from the Houston Ballet's Cleopatra that I
went and saw tonight. I loved it! The costumes, the
settings, the dancing, the music: everything made for a
great experience. My favorite scene involved two men
dancing in an erotic fashion with each other, with each
alternatively playing a submissive and aggressive role.
The equal strength, weight and size of the two men made
an elegant twist of the traditional male/female dance
partnership usually seen in ballet. Both men lifted,
embraced, pushed away, and spun the other. Additionally,
both of the men were wearing Egyptian still pleated
"skirts" which added to the gender-bending
quality of this piece. The dance was trying
to portray a conversation between the two men, and their
views were conveyed in their communion like dancing with
each other. The erotic undertone further elevated the
importance of their discussion and made it a focus point
in the ballet, rather than a minor dance in the course of
the plot. It verged on humor, it was so out of place in
our traditional concept of ballet, with audience members
tittering and gasping in response. I am reminded of a
group of male dancers who have taken to dance on toe
shoe. At first, the image of a hairy and  muscular
leg en pointe is disconcerting--until you realize how
arbitrary and confining this reaction is. Most of the
press has taken notice of the African-American female
lead of Cleopatra who is in a number of the productions
(ours was her night off). However, I think the male
dancing in this piece, which is often the background and
not the focal point of a ballet, provided the most
challenging aspects of this ballet. Overall I was
delighted by the modern sensibilities interwoven with the
ancient legend in this ballet.Another thing I wanted
to mention in this entry was a list What's one word you would use to describe your childhood? Is there a central image of in your childhood? What was your position in the family, and how did it affect your personality? How old were your parents when you were born, how did they feel about having you? Who in the family was most important to you? Did you have brothers and sisters, and how did they impact you? What sorts of things were you rewarded for? Are there family stories about you and how do you feel about them? Describe earliest school experiences--what teachers, students do you remember? Consider an interview with yourself about your childhood--what would you say? Anyway, if you aren't wearing green, be careful--you might get an internet pinch from someone. :)Have a lucky day!
03/17/00 03:45:31 PM |
of
exercises I learned in my Writing Your Memoir class on
Weds. 
Melissa